Switch.



Patented July I, I902. S. .I. HARRIS. I L

S W l T C H-.

(Application filed Jan. 1'4, 1902.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT O ICE.

SAMUEL JOSEPH HARRIS, or LAKE CITY, FLORIDA.

SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 703,917, dated July 1, 1902. Application filed January 14,1902. Serial N01 89,769. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that LSAMUEL JosnPH HARRIS, a citizen of the United States,re siding at Lake City, in the county of'Golumbia and State of Florida, have invented new and useful-Improvements in Switches, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to split switches, and contemplates the provision of a safety appliance therefor calculated to insure the absolute safety of the main track at all times, even in the event of the heel-bolt in the switchstand or the bolt between the connecting-rod and tie-bar dropping out of place, the switchstand being knocked down by a passing train or any other accident occuring to the switch-- shifting apparatus. The improved appliance is also calculatedwto compensate for the lost motion in the throw of a switch due to the wear of the connecting-bolts, and thereby remove the liability of a wheel having a sharp flange or a deranged truck taking the siding and causing a wreck. 7

With the foregoing in mind the invention will be fully. understood from. thefollowing description and claim when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 isaplan view of a switch equipped with my improved safety appliance; .Fig. 2, an enlargedjdetail section taken inthe plane indicated by the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a plan view showing the base-plate, casing, and thrust-rod of the appliance; Fig. 4, a detail transverse section taken in the plane indicated by the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 a similar View taken in the plane indicated by the line 5 5 of Fig. 8.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the several views. of the drawings, referring to which- A is one rail of the main track; B G, the opposite rails thereof; D, one rail of the siding; E, the other'siding-rail, which merges into the main-track rail B F, one of the switchpoints, which abuts at. its heel against the end of rail D and is adapted to be thrown against the rail A; G, the other switch-point, which abuts against the end of the rail 0 and is arranged to be shifted against the rail B to render continuous one side of the main track; H, a tie-bar connected to the switch-points, and I a connecting-rod designed to extend to a switch-stand, which I have deemed it un- I necessary to illustrate. These several parts 7 may be. and. preferably are .of the ordinary construction.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention the safety'appliance' comprises a baseplate J, arranged on and connected to one of the sleepers or ties in aposition adjacent to the point G; a cylinder K, connected to the base-plate in a position at right angles to point G and having its end adjacent to said point open and its end remote from the same provided with a central aperture a; a thrust-rod L, having its rear end disposed in the aperture a of the casing and its forward end seated in a socket M, connected to the inner side of the point G and also having a ..collar Z) at an intermediate point of its length,

snugly fitting and movable in the bore of the casing, and a coiled spring N, preferably of steel, contained in the casing and surrounding the thrust-rod and interposed between the collar 1) of the same and the rear end of the casing. The said spring obviously tends at all times to thrust the rod L forwardly-z'. e., in the direction indicated by arrowin Fig. 2-and consequently it will be seen that the appliance will not only take up all lost motion in the working parts, so as to insure the point G lying tight against the rail 13 when the switch is set for a clear main track, and thereby prevent a sharp flanged wheel or a deranged truck from taking the siding, but willalso press andhold the point against the rail B and insure an absolutely safe main track in the event of the switchstand being. broken orthe parts thereof be- ;coming casually disconnected.

conjunction with the kind of switch illus ing having a smooth bore, and also having its forward end open, and its rear end provided with a central aperture, the rod for exerting thrust against a switch-point, formed of one piece of material and disposed in the casing with its rear end guided in the central aperture of the casing, and having the integral collar at an intermediate point of its length snugly fitting and movable in the smooth bore of the casing, and the coiled spring surrounding the rod within the casing and interposed between the integral collar of the rod and the rear end of the casing.

2. The combination of the switch-point roam"? having the socket at one side, the casing dis posed at right angles to the point, and havin g a smooth bore, and also having its forward end open, and its rear end provided with a central aperture, the rod for exerting thrust against the switch-point having its forward end arranged in the socket on the point; the said rod being formed of one piece of material, and being disposed in the casing with its rear end guided in the central aperture thereof, and having the integral collar at an intermediate point of its length snugly fitting and movable in the smooth bore of the casin g, and the coiled spring surrounding the rod Within the casing and interposed between the integral collar of the rod and the rear end of the SAMUEL JOSEPH HARRIS.

Witnesses:

RoBT. F. ROGERS, A. B. SMALL. 

